Ma Lin

Country: China

Date of birth: 19/2/1980

Place of birth: Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China

Gender: Male

Height: 173cm / 5ft 8in

Weight: 71kg / 11st 2lbs

Career highlights:

Ma Lin won both the individual and team golds in the Bejing 2008 Olympics and the doubles in 2004. He has also won nine world championships golds (for doubles and team events) and is a four-time single World Cup Champion.

RANDOM FACT

Lin has an 88.7 per cent win ratio.

How it all began:

He started playing table tennis when he was six years old. He became a member of the provincial team aged 10 and four years later, in 1994, he made the Chinese national team.

RANDOM FACT

Lin has won Olympic gold in the singles, doubles and team events - the only player ever to have done so.

Biggest Disappointment:

Worldwide interest is focused on Timo Boll of Germany, who became the first world number one from outside China in more than seven years in 2009. M Long, the world No 1 from China, is currently on the longest winning streak of the professional era.

Rivals:

Ma Lin is known for his complete dedication to his sport, to the extent that he wears down the soles of his trainers within three days because of the amount he practises.